Indian Textiles- A historical perspective
Today cotton is an integral part of textiles in India. Nearly four million handlooms are engaged in weaving fabrics of nearly 23 different varieties of cotton. It was a piece of cotton stuck to a silver vase and some spindles discovered in excavations which revealed that the spinning and weaving of cotton was known to the Harrappans, nearly five million years ago.
References to weaving are found in the Vedic literature. Method of spinning, the various materials used etc. are also mentioned in these ancients scripts. The history of Textiles is told many times over in the epics, the Puranas, the Graeco- Roman sources of Indian history, and the classical Tamil Sangam Literature. Various techniques of weaving, designing, needle work etc have survived through the centuries
The foundations of the Indian textile trade with other countries began as early as the second century BC. Kalyan, a port, is place in that time from where textiles were exported. A variety of fabrics, including cotton brocade, is mentioned in Chinese literature as Indian products exported to China.
A hoard of block printed and resist dyed fabrics, mainly of Gujrati origin, found in the tombs of Fostat, Egypt, are the proof of large scale Indian export of cotton textiles to the Egypt in earlier times. They were exported in the early medieval times. Some of these motifs were found similar to those mentioned in the Western Indian manuscripts in the 13th century. There are others which have resemblence to the block printed fabrics, in Gujrat.
The silk fabric, was a popular item of Indian exports to Indonesia around the 13th century, where these were used as barter for spices. Towards the end of the 17th century, the British East India Company had begun exports of Indian silks and various other cotton fabrics to other countries. These included the famous fine Muslin cloth of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The trade in painted and printed cottons or chintz, a favorite in the European market at that time, was extensively practised between India, China, Java and the Phillipines, long before the arrival of the Europeans.
Before the introduction of mechanised means of spinning in the early 19th century, all Indian cottons and silks were hand spun and hand woven, a highly popular fabric, called the khadi.
The foundations of the Indian textile trade with other countries began as early as the second century BC. Kalyan, a port, is place in that time from where textiles were exported. A variety of fabrics, including cotton brocade, is mentioned in Chinese literature as Indian products exported to China.
A hoard of block printed and resist dyed fabrics, mainly of Gujrati origin, found in the tombs of Fostat, Egypt, are the proof of large scale Indian export of cotton textiles to the Egypt in earlier times. They were exported in the early medieval times. Some of these motifs were found similar to those mentioned in the Western Indian manuscripts in the 13th century. There are others which have resemblence to the block printed fabrics, in Gujrat.The silk fabric, was a popular item of Indian exports to Indonesia around the 13th century, where these were used as barter for spices. Towards the end of the 17th century, the British East India Company had begun exports of Indian silks and various other cotton fabrics to other countries. These included the famous fine Muslin cloth of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The trade in painted and printed cottons or chintz, a favorite in the European market at that time, was extensively practised between India, China, Java and the Phillipines, long before the arrival of the Europeans.
Before the introduction of mechanised means of spinning in the early 19th century, all Indian cottons and silks were hand spun and hand woven, a highly popular fabric, called the khadi.
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